The 20-year-old Tyreese Stuart Fleming was the driver and only survivor of an overloaded car that crashed into a utility pole near Timaru last year.
The force of the collision split the car in two, killing five teenage boys in the car immediately.
Yesterday, in a Timaru High Court ruling, Fanau of the deceased issued a statement on the impact on the victims.
Ratahill, the grandmother of Nikohill, 15 years old, who died in the accident, said she read about the accident on social media before she knew who died.
She felt a pain in the affected family and couldn’t sleep because she was worried about them.
“I stood in the tears of the rain and said,’I’m sorry the boys died, we were together and comforted each other.’
“I thought my family would know that my loved one had died after 2:30 am. I thought to myself,” Okay, my phone didn’t ring. ” “
She said the sadness she had endured since losing Nico was irresistible.
“Our life has changed, I have emptiness.”
Police initially charged Fleming with manslaughter, but pleaded guilty to less charges of dangerous driving that caused his death in April.
The judge was also disqualified from driving him for five years.
Judge Rob Osborne said in a packed court, the starting point for a five- or six-year prison sentence was shortened in order to recognize Fleming’s young age and circumstances.
He said the regrets Fleming had at the Restorative Justice Council also contributed to the reduction in judgments.
Stephen Drammond, the father of Javany Drammond, the victim of the accident, said two and a half years’ imprisonment didn’t mean anything.
“I don’t think I’m very honest with you. I killed five children.
“You choose to drink, and you drive, and everything else, it wasn’t just an accident.”
But Steve Karen, a lawyer who regularly handles cases involving drunk driving, said the ruling was relatively normal given the circumstances.
“It’s certainly within the parameters of a normal judgment for this kind of crime. The judge … is very young in which he is sentenced to just careless acts, not intentional cheating. You have to look at the fact that you are dealing with people.
“Because the majority of the population does not appear in court for this type of crime, people who come to court tend to be vulnerable and hurt those who have had lifestyle-related difficulties, so the court must do it. Admit. “
Donna Gobolco, a student general manager who opposes dangerous driving, agreed that sentencing would never admit the pain caused to her family.
“The decisions made that day had clearly tragic consequences, and unfortunately these decisions are made daily by young men and women,” she said.
She said young people need more education to understand the seriousness of illegal and disabled driving.
“This is a culture that needs to change in this country. We know that we need to start asking ourselves some really serious questions about what we want to do as a country. “
Fleming told the victim’s family through his lawyer that he was really sorry, angry and ashamed of his decision.